Top officials of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of this year’s FIFA Club World Cup in the UAE admit having good attendances in the early round will be a challenge but are confident of a high turn-out throughout the tournament.
Abu Dhabi will host the global elite club event from December 6 to 16, featuring seven teams including six continental champions. Real Madrid, winners of the UEFA Champions League, will be the headline act.
Arabian Gulf League champions Al Jazira are also set to feature in the play-off against New Zealand’s Auckland City – although their place could be taken if Al Ain win the AFC Champions League title in November.
It will be the third time that the UAE will host the tournament after the 2009 and 2010 editions. In those two years, the lone play-off and two quarter-finals attracted a total attendance of 31,705 (2009) and 72,480 (2010).
For Mohammed Khalfan Al Romaithi, chairman of the Higher LOC, he admits more could have been done seven years ago and insisted they’ve learnt from those experiences by acting more swiftly this time round.
“The only setback we had is that in those two years was that we didn’t do enough planning for the beginning of the tournament but then the people came in the semi-finals and final in big numbers,” he said, during the unveiling of the official mascot – a gazelle nicknamed ‘Dhabi’ at Yas Mall.
“This year we are hoping to fill the stadiums from the first match and that’s the challenge but occasions like these (fan zones etc) and meeting people face-to-face, will create awareness among the whole society.
“We are currently engaging with the society. There will be a variety of Fan Zones and a lot of billboards around the country in shopping malls and the streets and we hope it will inspire the people.”
That's the official mascot ⬇for #ClubWC in #UAE . Name is Dhabi. pic.twitter.com/YP04vuyM6J
— Denzil M Pinto (@denz_360) June 27, 2017
Aref Al Awani, tournament director, echoed Al Romaithi’s view. He added: “Our main objective is to ensure that there’s good attendances in all the stadiums. We started our marketing campaign early and so far more than 10,000 tickets have been sold in two weeks.”
With beIN Sports, which has broadcasted previous editions, not available in the UAE since diplomatic ties were cut, Al Romaithi is hopeful there will be a solution.
“We would love everyone living in this country to watch the games on TV but this matter is not in my hands,” he said.
